William Underwood was one of the earliest settlers in the district, coming to Geelong in 1836. He was born on 10 August 1815 in Launceston to convict parents William Underwood and Catherine Lynch. He married Sarah Isabella Robinson in 1854. He took a prominent part in municipal government, having been a member of the old Connewarre road board, and later of the South Barwon shire council, where he served from 1874 until 1887. He was a zealous member and committeeman of the Geelong Agricultural Society, and until his health became seriously impaired a couple of years before his death he never missed the annual shows of the society. He was very healthy until he had an attack of paralysis, after which he became an invalid. He purchased crown land in Connewarre which he farmed for 40 years until he died on 2 October 1891 aged 80 years. He added to his initial acquisition as land became available, owning 855 acres when he died. His estate was valued at £5190 which was left to his wife, Sarah, for life and at her death to his children equally. Sarah died on 20 January, 1907 at the age of 82. His farm "Oaklands", was sold on 14 March 1907 for £6,000. William and Sarah were buried together in the Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery. Their children were: William — born 1855, died 1858 Christopher — born 1855, married Eliza Jane Middleton in 1879, died 1941 Sarah Isabella — born 1858, died 1943 William — born 1860, married Marion Hose, died 1937 Colac Thomas Robinson — born 1861, married Kate Treleven Lanyon on 6 May 1897, died 1915 Catherine — born 1864, died 1866 Catherine — born 1866, died 1938 James — born 1868, died 1876 |
The land belonging to William Underwood which was sold at the auction on 14 March 1907 stretched from Breamlea Road and Shaws Lane in the west to the lake and from Belchers Road in the north to Bluestone School Road in the south. Barwon Heads Road ran through the farm. The Connewarre Presbyterian Church was built in 1916 on the south western corner of allotment G section XII on land donated by David Polly.
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100 years ago — a few items from newspapers and cemetery records: King George V was monarch, Billy Hughes was prime minister, Gough Whitlam, 21st prime minister of Australia was born and three year old Sasanof won the Melbourne Cup. The first plebiscite on the issue of military conscription was held; it was defeated. 25 April was officially named and widely observed as Anzac Day. The Victorian Football League was feeling the strain of World War 1. Attendances were affected, only four clubs competed (Carlton, Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond) and teams were missing players. Geelong among many other teams, refused to play on "patriotic grounds". Fitzroy won the wooden spoon and the premiership in the same year, finishing fourth out of four and also winning the grand final. Melbourne receives its highest annual rainfall. The old Connewarre Presbyterian Church, at 1411 Barwon Heads Road, Connewarre is now used by the Geelong Aero Club. It has skillion roofed extentions at the front and back and a doorway near the rear of the body of the church which has been closed off. Originally the door probably looked like the one at St Cuthbert's Church of England at Marshall which was built 5 years earlier and in a similar style. Connewarre Presbyterian Church was erected in 1916 on a block given by Mr D Polley on the corner of Staceys (then Lake) and Barwon Heads Roads, as it was decided that the old building was beyond repair. The architects, Laird & Buchan called for tenders in May and the successful applicant was Mr H Rose. The church was weatherboard on the outside with Californian redwood and beaverwood on the interior built in the Federation Carpenter Gothic style. It had a gable roof with skillion-roofed extentions each end and leadlight windows in the gothic style. The pulpit for the church had come from St Andrew's in Geelong. It would seat 100 people. The church was crowded for two services held on 8 October to commemorate the opening of the church. At the morning service Mr RC Blyth, chairman of the Board of Management, gave a short address, then handed a silver key to Mr R Fuller sen., the oldest church member, who opened the church. The celebrations continued the following Tuesday with a tea meeting and concert. There was a large attendance and the sum of £22 was obtained. The total expenses of building the church amounted to £350 of which over £200 had been paid off. In 1977 the church became the Connewarre Uniting Church, and about a year later it closed and was sold to the Geelong Aero Club.
Next meeting:
Thursday 3 November at 7:30pm at Mount Duneed Hall, 40 Mount Duneed Road, Mount Duneed Col Hutchinson — 100 years of history — 1866 1916 1966
Even after the Yarborough Inn closed sporting activities were carried on over the years. The programme for the 1949 Mount Duneed Fair was sent to me by David Baker. It seems to be like the country fairs we sometimes see on British TV. Every second page of the booklet contained sponsors ads. I have included this one as younger readers will not know what a bone fide is. It is a bone fide traveller, a strange concept where you could get a drink after hours, including Sundays, if you had driven a certain distance. There were many cars parked outside the Grovedale Pub on Sundays (probably travellers from Melbourne). St Wilfrid's Church of England, the State School and many homes are reported to have been destroyed in one section of the Mount Duneed area. Men engaged in fighting the fire in that area were of the opinion that other homes were lost in other parts of the district. The homes destroyed were "Charlemont", the property of the late Mr L Sprague; Messrs AT Blyth, A Hartwick, J Alford, Mrs Hill, Mr L Bufton, E Brown, A Ricketts, P Fischer, J Williams, R Kerger, JH Coombs, Mrs R Foster (house occupied by Mr Law, school teacher), Miss Burville, cottage on the property of Mr D Stewart and the cottage on property of Mr F Stone. A shed was destroyed at the home of Mrs Ellis and all outbuildings at the home of Mr J Wohlers, but the post office at Mount Duneed was saved after a strenuous fight. A fence alongside the office was destroyed. Other residents who suffered losses of hay and other material were Messrs C Seiffert, A Winkler, E Cleary, G Evans and J Blyth. Considerable losses of stock are anticipated. From the Geelong Advertiser 15 January 1944 and 17 January 1944 Standing amid the ruins of his home at Mount Duneed Mr WT Hill told a very dramatic story of the fire on 15 January 1944. "The hedge across the road burned so fiercely in the wind that it was a few seconds only before bits of it set fire to my home. A new verandah went so soon that I had only time to take my wife to the middle grass paddock, already burned over. We just got out of the house as the roof was falling in" From the Newcastle Sun, Saturday 15 January 1944 It was believed the fire started near Waurn Ponds due to a car using a gas producer. (During the war gas producers were fitted on cars to conserve petrol as rationing was in force). A strong northerly wind soon fanned the red terror through Mount Duneed, destroying or damaging everything in its path, finally to be exhausted at the sea. Lack of water and fire equipment not as efficient as today enabled the fire to dictate its own terms. From the Mount Duneed Primary School Centenary 1878 - 1978 A new house, at 710 Torquay Road, was built to replace the demolished home in 1946 for Walter Thomas Hill who died on 8 January 1954. His wife Jessie Elizabeth Hill died on 14 May 1955 aged 82 years. Their son Leslie Francis (Lel) Hill lived on the property until his death on 28 January 1999. 100 years ago — a few items from newspapers and cemetery records: 1915 was not a particularly good year. A monumental drought had caused the crops to fail, the wool clip to be low and the price of chaff to rise. The Great War was continuing longer than expected and the Spanish flu and meningitis epidemics were a constant fear. Two soldiers who were buried at Mount Duneed Cemetery in 1915 both died of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis before they left Australia. They were Charles Henry Challis and Joseph Paul Lugg. Born at Mount Duneed in 1878 Private Charles Henry Challis, who enlisted on 13 July 1915, a farmer from Connewarre died in the Bendigo Hospital on 10 September 1915 aged 37. He was the son of Harry and Sarah Ann (nee Porter) Challis. His brother Private Edwin Challis, a foreman who lived at Connewarre was born at Mount Duneed in 1882. He was wounded in action on 14 June 1918. After re-joining his unit he died from injuries caused by an accident on a farm on 18 December 1918. He was buried at the Maubeuge Communal Cemetery. A third son Private Sydney Gordon Challis, a farmer, enlisted on 17 April 1916. He was born at Mount Duneed in 1896 and was declared killed in action on 11 April 1917 by Court of Enquiry. Private Francis Henry Challis a former farmer born on 8 December 1883 at Barwon Heads was a railway employee married to Elsie May and living at Sandringham prior to enlistment. He was declared killed in action on 12 May, 1917 by Court of Enquiry in the vicinity of Bullecourt. He had one son. He was the son of Francis Henry and Jessie Elizabeth Challis. Private William Jacob Fuller, a farmer from Connewarre, was declared killed in action at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He had been missing for nineteen months. He was the 25 year old son of Robert and Susanna (née McLeary) Fuller. He is remembered on his parents gravestone in the Presbyterian section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery. Percy George Graham, son of John George Graham and Caroline Matilda née Vagg, was killed in action at Gallipoli on 2 May 1915. Before enlistment he was a farmer from Connewarre. He is remembered at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey and also on his parents headstone in the Methodist section at Mount Duneed Cemetery. Charles Altmann, son of John Altmann and Louisa Wheelhouse (née Schneider) of Mount Duneed, was killed in action at Gallipoli on 29 November 1915 at the age of 24 years. His brother Alfred Altman enlisted in 1915 in Nagambie but was discharged in the following year as medically unfit after diptheria followed by post diptheritic neuritis affecting his sight and legs. Rev George Allen Stewart On 6 September 1915 Rev George Allen Stewart, aged 36 years, died of wounds at Alexandria. He was a Presbyterian Minister and Corporal in the 6th Reinforcements, 14th Infantry Battalion. He was the third son of John and Mary Stewart of Dhuliebeeil, Mount Duneed. He was buried at Chatby Military and War Memorial Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt. On Sunday morning 10 September a marble tablet was unveiled in the Pyramid Hill Presbyterian Church erected to the memory of the late Corporal George Stewart, who was a previous minister of the church. The brothers of the deceased soldier Mr AM Stewart of Lake Charm and Mr J Stewart of Mount Duneed were present at the ceremony. His name was listed on the Mount Duneed State School Honour Roll.
INTERESTING OPENING CEREMONY Practically everybody in the district turned out to the opening of the Soldiers' Memorial Hall at Connewarre on Saturday afternoon. The hall is a substantially built roomy structure, and is equipped with a handsome honor board bearing the names of the district men who volunteered for service in the Great War, and have made the supreme sacrifice. Cr Cameron presided and amongst others present were Mr JH Lister, MHR, Hons, HF Richardson and AA Austin, MsLC and Capt Morley, MLA. On arrival at the hall the National Anthem was sung, and Cr Cameron introduced Cr White to the gathering. The latter opened the door with a silver key bearing the initials CDSMH (Connewarre District Soldiers' Memorial Hall). Cr White expressed his appreciation of the compliment paid to him in entrusting him with the duty of declaring the hall open. It was erected not only as a memorial to the dead, but also for the use of the living. He then turned the key and declared the hall officially open. The interior of the hall was attractively decorated and arranged in stalls for the bazaar, which followed the opening ceremony. Cr White called on Mr Lester MHR to unveil the honor roll containing exclusively the names of the men who had fallen. He emphasised the necessity for unity amongst the whole of the people so that the sacrifice of those who gave their lives might not be in vain. The best memorial we could erect was to carry our the promises we had made to the soldiers during the war. He referred to the case of an unnaturalised Scandinavian who all through the war had been employed in the Melbourne munitions factory, drawing £30 a week. His wife was also in business earning good money. That could be filled by the wife of a returned soldier. He also referred to the action of the Queensland Government in wiping off the Statute Book the principle of preference to soldiers. Hon HF Richardson, MLC, congratulated the people of Connewarre on the fine hall they had erected. Our sympathies went out to those who had lost dear ones in the war. Mr Austin, MLC, also extended his congratulations to those responsible for the erection of such a fine hall. To his mind the erection of an obelisk as a memorial to the fallen was a waste of money compared to a memorial hall which would be useful for all time. He memtioned that three quarters of the total cost of the hall had already been subscribed and urged all to patronise the stalls freely to leave the building free of debt. Mr Morley, MLA, referred to the necessity of providing social amenities in country districts. That was the whole secret of how to induce people to go back to the land. After referring to the names on the honor roll, he mentioned that there were 600 returned men in Melbourne clamouring for work which they could not obtain. He congratulated the ladies on the fine display they had made, and urged all present to liberally support the bazaar and to secure some of its many bargains. A vote of thanks to the visiting speakers closed the formal part of the proceedings and within a few minutes, the bazaar was in full swing. Brisk business was done all the afternoon, and it is understood that the financial result is considered highly satisfactory. From Geelong Advertiser Monday 7 August 1922 The names on this memorial are listed on the Together They Served website. http://togethertheyserved.com/connewarre-names/ This comprehensive website lists WW1 names and memorials for all of Surf Coast. It is well worth looking at. Fawkner Street
The Fawkner family were dairy farmers on the east side of Charlemont Road (now Carter Road) Connewarre Iris Street Alfred and Iris Wallace lived on the same property over 50 years ago and built the house that later acted as the Warralily sales office. They grazed and cropped the property. Koslow Street Tihon and Maria Koslow were of Russian-Ukranian and Irish decent. The Koslow family owned land on the corner of Barwon Heads Road and Carter Road. Beard Street Patricia Beard, recipient of an OAM, has worked tirelessly over 45 years to advocate for the disability community. Patricia's grandson Luke who nominated her has purchased land in Warralily. Neville Street Neville and Elizabeth Spencer have ties to the Connewarre district stretching back 170 years. Elizabeth is a local historian and her father Neville was recognised as the oldest living original Connewarre resident. Naismith Street Graham Naismith worked as a pharmacist in Barwon Heads for 25 years. He moved to Connewarre after living behind his shop for 15 years. Rainford Street Thomas Rainford was appointed teacher in Mount Duneed in 1868 whilst James is recognised as an historical stalwart within the community. Seifferts Street Neville Seifferts lived on and worked the land in the district. Lampard Street Mr Lampard opened a saddlery in Mount Duneed while Mrs Lampard operated the Mount Duneed Post Office and General Store in the mid 1900s. Decourcy Street and Torse Avenue The father of Decourcy Evans or "Tors" as he was known settled in the area in 1888 after migrating from Ireland. Tors had a mixed farm at Mount Duneed up until 1956 and later returned to the area when he purchased the old Post Office. He was also vice president of the Mount Duneed Cricket Club. Sirrom Crescent Ian Morris, a town planner, worked with the City of South Barwon and then the City of Greater Geelong post amalgamation. Ian was involved in much of the development in and around Geelong over 35 years and left a strong legacy amongst planners, engineers and developers in the region. Morris spelt backwards is Sirrom. |
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